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This is a special time of year in Hollywood, when we express our thanks for our blessings and exact vengeance on the people who wronged us.

We can thank the Thanksgiving holiday for the good feelings associated with the former, and Dwayne "Don't Call Me The Rock" Johnson's new revenge movie "Faster" for the latter.

Well, it's not really fair to blame Johnson for what we're about to do. After all, the revenge theme has been a constant in literature and film for as long as people have been reading books and watching movies.

"Faster," starring the wrestler-turned-actor as a man bent on avenging the death of his brother, didn't open until yesterday, but it inspired us to think about a popular movie genre.

Here is a countdown of the 30 best revenge movies of all time:

30. "The Italian Job" — Although some see this as a two-hour Mini Cooper commercial, it's still a pretty good action yarn.

29. "The Patriot" — If you ever wondered if Mel Gibson's film career had a theme, think revenge. This will not be the first time you see Mel on this list, and we even left out a few.

28. "The Karate Kid" — Those nasty bullies in the skeleton costumes were scary, but they were waxed on and waxed off.

27. "Four Brothers" — Four guys who don't look alike respond like a family to avenge the murder of their mother.

26. "Ghost" — Whoopi won an Oscar, but Patrick Swayze got even with the guy who arranged his murder.

25. "Mystic River" — In Clint Eastwood's brilliant film, the lesson learned was that you should be careful about the revenge you wish for ...

24. "The Crow" — The late Brandon Lee literally came back from the dead to get his revenge.

23. "Sleepers" — A group of youngsters make a terrible mistake, pay dearly for that mistake and then grow up to exact revenge.

7. "Carrie" — You might think twice about teasing that shy young girl in high school gym class.

6. "The Count of Monte Cristo" — Novelist Alexander Dumas practically invented the revenge genre. The book has been filmed countless times; this 2002 version was pretty good.

5. "Braveheart" — It's Mel again, this time all done up for Halloween.

4. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" — Of all the Clint Eastwood revenge Westerns ("Hang "Em High" and "High Plains Drifter" are two others), this is my favorite.

3. The "Bourne" trilogy — Once he figured out who he was, he went after the people who made him who he was.

2. "Gladiator" — Russell Crowe was a little intense when the movie started. Imagine his rage when the evil emperor murdered his family.

1. "Death Wish" — Forget the four sequels. Remember only the original. It struck a chord when it came out in 1974 that still resonates. Identifying one of the muggers has become one of the most frequently asked movie trivia questions of all time.

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